An amazing study authored by professors D. Mark Anderson from the University of Montana and Daniel Rees from the University of Colorado shows that traffic deaths have been reduced in states where medical marijuana is legalized.

Based on their findings, traffic related fatalities that have been caused by the use of medical marijuana dropped by almost nine percent-in states that have legalized medical marijuana.

One crucial variable is the decrease in alcohol consumption. The study finds that there’s a positive correlation between a decrease in beer sales along with the usage of cannabis, particularly within the younger folks aged 20-29. A fall in beer sales supports the hypothesis that cannabis can become a replacement for spirits.

The research also finds that cannabis has the effect that alcohol does on motorists. Drivers under the influence of alcohol often make reckless decisions and risky moves, whereas those under the influence of bud often make safer choices, slow down, and increase following distances.

High Drivers Are Safe Drivers?

The consequences of cannabis use on driving performance have been extensively studied in the last 20 years. All major studies demonstrate that cannabis consumption has minimum effect on driving skill, and could actually reduce accidents. Here’s a summation of the largest studies into marijuana use and driving.

A complete 1992 NHTSA study revealed that bud is infrequently involved in driving accidents, except when mixed with alcohol. The study concluded that “the THC only drivers had an [injury] duty rate below that of the drug free drivers.”

1998. A 1993 NHTSA study dosed Dutch motorists with THC and analyzed them on actual Dutch roads. It concluded that THC caused no disability except for a minor lack within the driver’s ability to “keep a steady lateral position on the road.” This implies that the THC-dosed drivers had a little difficulty staying smack within the centre of their lanes, but revealed no other difficulties.

A huge 1998 study by the University of Transport and Adelaide South Australia examined blood samples from drivers involved in 2, 500 accidents. It found that motorists with only cannabis within their systems were somewhat less inclined to cause accidents than those without. Motorists with both alcohol and grass did have a high injury duty rate. The report concluded, “there was certainly no sign that marijuana by itself was a cause of fatal accidents.”

In Canada, a 1999 University of Toronto meta-analysis of studies into pot and driving revealed that motorists who had a reasonable number of pot generally refrained from passing automobiles and drove at an even more consistent speed. The investigation also affirmed that grass taken alone doesn’t raise a driver’s threat of causing an injury.

The study analyzed the consequences of cannabis use on drivers through four weeks of tests on driving simulators. The study was commissioned especially to demonstrate that marijuana was impairing, as well as the british government was embarrassed with the study’s decision that “marijuana users drive more safely under the influence of cannabis.”

Based on the Cannabis and Driving report, an extensive literature review published in 2000 by the United Kingdom Department of Transportation, “the majority of evidence indicates that cannabis use may create a lower risk of [injury] culpability.”

A major report was issued by the Canadian Senate into every aspect of dope in 2002.

The latest study into driving and drugs was printed within the July 2004 Journal of Accident Analysis and Prevention. Motorists over the legal alcohol limit were 15 times much more likely to truly have a crash. Drugs like Valium and Rohypnol created effects much like alcohol, while cocaine and opiates showed just a small but “not statistically significant” increase in injury hazard. As for the bud-only users? They showed absolutely no increased risk of accidents whatsoever.